By Karen Bloom
There’s nothing quite like the smell of cookies baking to say “home for the holidays.” Share the joy straight from your oven by gathering friends and family for a festive baking day. Mix, roll, bake, laugh — and, of course, taste — as everyone contributes to a tray (or two) of homemade treats.
For many of us, holiday baking is a cherished tradition, and it only gets sweeter when shared. Turn the kitchen into a holiday workshop: assign roles for measuring, mixing and decorating, turn up the seasonal music, and let creativity and sprinkles fly.
Even refresh those holiday favorites. Chocolate chip and gingerbread cookies are classics, but find inspiration in trying something new, such as Peppermint Mocha Chip Cookies might become a fast new favorite.
Peppermint Mocha Chip Cookies
Notes of crisp peppermint perfectly complement the flavors of coffee and semi-sweet chocolate morsels. Add a crushed peppermint to each cookie to create a beautiful and seasonal presentation.
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons instant coffee
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 3 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 12 soft peppermint candies, crushed
Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease or line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Melt butter and 1 cup chocolate morsels in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth.
Transfer chocolate mixture into a large mixer bowl; add sugar and beat until combined. Add coffee granules, vanilla extract and peppermint extract; beat just until combined. Beat in eggs. Add flour and baking powder, mixing until all is incorporated. Fold in remaining 2 cups chocolate morsels.
Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart, using a medium size cookie scoop. Sprinkle each cookie with a little of the crushed peppermint candies.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set. Allow to cool for about 2 minutes on baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 36 cookies.
Hanukkah Sugar Cookies
Hanukkah is more than latkes. Celebrate the Festival of Lights in style with these tasty bites.
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• Colored sugar or decorating icings
Beat first 4 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add flour; mix well. Cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 350° F. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch-thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with 2-inch cookie cutters; sprinkle with colored sugar. Or, leave plain to frost later with decorating icing (after cookies are baked and cooled). Place on baking sheets.
Bake 12 to 15 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost and decorate as desired.
Melted Snowman
These cookies are cute tasty holiday treat.
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
Decorations:
• 12 large marshmallows
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 drop red food coloring, or as desired
• 1 drop yellow food coloring, or as desired
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Beat butter in a bowl using an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat white sugar, baking powder, and salt into butter until just combined. Beat egg, milk, and vanilla extract into butter-sugar mixture; add flour and mix until dough is just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is slightly chilled, about 10 minutes.
Scoop dough into balls slightly larger than golf balls; flatten into cookies. Arrange cookies on a baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden brown, 10 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.
Butter a microwave-safe plate. Place marshmallows on the prepared plate.
Microwave marshmallows until slightly puffed, 10 to 15 seconds. Gently press marshmallows until bottoms slightly ooze.
Whisk confectioners’ sugar and water together in a bowl until icing is slightly thicker than drizzle-consistency. Pour icing over cookies so it runs over the edges, reserving about 1 tablespoon.
Melt chocolate chips in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl, about 30 seconds. Pour melted chocolate into a piping bag with a small tip or a plastic bag with a corner snipped.
Press 1 marshmallow close to an edge of each cookie to be the snowman’s head. Draw “stick arms” onto the icing using the melted chocolate.
Divide the reserved 1 tablespoon icing into 2 small bowls. Mix red food coloring into 1 of the bowls and orange food coloring into the other bowl. Decorate the snowmen with scarves or ties using the red icing and yellow icing.
